Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Fluency help

In looking at my year end testing results, I've noticed growth, growth, and growth! (yay!) But...yes, nasty little 'but' in the middle of my high fives...

Fluency...not so good.

So, I'm looking to add to my pretty puny bag of tricks for fluency for next year... anyone have or know of any good resources I can get my hands on? I've browsed on TPT but nothing is really sticking out in the 9 million results that came back.

The problem is with my more advanced readers...the ones that are reading on 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade reading levels. Their fluency is low because if they are reading on those levels, they should be reading fluently (yes, definitely) at that level. My weaker readers are good with their fluency because they are reading on or just below their grade level.

So, help? Just point be to the magic packet that will cure my fluency woes....I wish :)

3 comments:

Found you on the Fabulously 4th Grade Froggies blog roll. I have had some success with using a volunteer to help with fluency. I created fluency packets using resources from Reading A-Z. Students would just leave the room for a few minutes each day to read with the volunteer. She helped them chart their progress so they could see the difference. I hope that helps! Stop by my blog sometime.StorieStories by Storie

Do your higher students have to READ that high level to practice their fluency or can they come down a few levels to practice fluency then start moving them back up slowly to get them more fluent at the higher level?

My school has a subscription to Reading A to Z so I'll check out their resources. I always forget to check the website because we've printed and created sets of all the stories...we have a wonderful bookroom! My kids have to read fluently on their instructional reading level (which would make them independent on that level??) In Virginia we use PALs (phonological awareness literacy screening) and in order to find their instructional oral reading level (IORL) they must be fluent on the level in which they read, even if they are just in 2nd grade reading on a 5th grade level. But I've found some discrepancies within the system...marked some of my kid's rates too low when someone read the same passage SLOWER but wasn't marked too slow. WHO KNOWS! I'm so confused..but I know I'd feel better if I had more resources to pull and use during my running records. Thanks for the ideas ladies!